Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
In this video conversation, Cadence Design Systems' senior group director for strategy and new ventures outlines how the company is moving beyond traditional EDA into a new era of agentic AI and system design automation, as announced at CadenceLive 2026 in Santa Clara, California, USA. The centerpiece of the announcement is a hierarchical agent architecture — a head orchestrator plus domain-specific “super agents” — that coordinates across engineering domains to accelerate design tasks.
ChipStack, launched earlier, was the first domain-specific super agent for semiconductor design; Cadence is now extending this approach to custom analog design, digital placement/route/sign-off 3D IC work, and multi-physics optimization.
Knoth emphasized that agentic AI is an evolution of longstanding EDA goals: automate repetitive tasks, abstract complexity, and let engineers work at higher conceptual levels. Cadence pairs simulation and optimization with bespoke neural approaches and LLM reasoning, enabling both lightweight on-design training and larger model orchestration. He said there is adoption among major customers.
On business models, Cadence is moving toward consumption-based pricing that reflects the scale of work produced by virtual engineers alongside humans, while maintaining its license-based roots. Knoth argued the real value is measured by outcomes — how much engineering output the platform delivers — and sees agentic AI as a force multiplier that can help address chronic talent shortages and lower the barrier to entry for newcomers into chip design.
Looking ahead, Knoth described physical or embodied AI (autonomous vehicles, drones, robotics) as a major frontier, where Cadence aims to apply its integrated stack of AI, simulation/optimization, and accelerated compute. Strategic acquisitions and organic innovation are being used to build a platform to design safe, effective intelligence in the physical world — the next big wave Cadence wants to help power.
Watch the full video interview here.
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In this video conversation, Cadence Design Systems' senior group director for strategy and new ventures outlines how the company is moving beyond traditional EDA into a new era of agentic AI and system design automation, as announced at CadenceLive 2026 in Santa Clara, California, USA. The centerpiece of the announcement is a hierarchical agent architecture — a head orchestrator plus domain-specific “super agents” — that coordinates across engineering domains to accelerate design tasks.
ChipStack, launched earlier, was the first domain-specific super agent for semiconductor design; Cadence is now extending this approach to custom analog design, digital placement/route/sign-off 3D IC work, and multi-physics optimization.
Knoth emphasized that agentic AI is an evolution of longstanding EDA goals: automate repetitive tasks, abstract complexity, and let engineers work at higher conceptual levels. Cadence pairs simulation and optimization with bespoke neural approaches and LLM reasoning, enabling both lightweight on-design training and larger model orchestration. He said there is adoption among major customers.
On business models, Cadence is moving toward consumption-based pricing that reflects the scale of work produced by virtual engineers alongside humans, while maintaining its license-based roots. Knoth argued the real value is measured by outcomes — how much engineering output the platform delivers — and sees agentic AI as a force multiplier that can help address chronic talent shortages and lower the barrier to entry for newcomers into chip design.
Looking ahead, Knoth described physical or embodied AI (autonomous vehicles, drones, robotics) as a major frontier, where Cadence aims to apply its integrated stack of AI, simulation/optimization, and accelerated compute. Strategic acquisitions and organic innovation are being used to build a platform to design safe, effective intelligence in the physical world — the next big wave Cadence wants to help power.
Watch the full video interview here.
------------
Also:
🎙 Listen to EE Times On Air podcasts on power, embedded, AI, and more: eetimes.com/podcasts/?utm_source=eetimes_youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=description
🎥 Don't miss an episode and subscribe to our YouTube channel: youtube.com/@eetimes747
Stay up to date with the latest news in the electronics industry
➡️ EE Times: eetimes.com/?utm_source=eetimes_youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=description
➡️ Power Electronics News: powerelectronicsnews.com/?utm_source=eetimes_youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=description
➡️ Embedded: embedded.com/?utm_source=eetimes_youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=description
➡️ EDN: edn.com/?utm_source=eetimes_youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=description
📰 Subscribe to our newsletters: aspencore.dragonforms.com/loading.do?omedasite=EventSubscription&pk=youtube
🖥️ Attend free tech webinars: eetimes.com/webinars/?utm_source=eetimes_youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=description
📈 Download free industry white papers: eetimes.com/techpapers/?utm_source=eetimes_youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=description
🎤 Check out our virtual events on EE Times: events.eetimes.com/?utm_source=eetimes_youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=description
🎉 Interested in advertising opportunities? Reach out to sales@aspencore.com
